# Jon O'Bryan

> Jon O'Bryan is the CEO and Co-founder of Atlas (YC W22), an AI-first customer support platform built to replace legacy tools like Zendesk and Intercom. A PhD physicist turned serial entrepreneur, Jon previously co-founded PadSplit - a co-living marketplace that housed 23,000 people across 18 U.S. cities - and Blanket Homes. At Atlas, he is on a mission to transform customer support from a cost center into a revenue driver, bringing together session recording, omnichannel ticketing, AI copilot, and customer timeline tools in a single ergonomic platform backed by Y Combinator and angel investors including Parker Conrad (Rippling), Jack Altman (Lattice), and Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox).

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at Atlas
- **Organizations:** Atlas, PadSplit, Blanket Homes, athenahealth, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Y Combinator
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Mathematics and Physics, Stanford University, Ph.D., Physics (Cosmology and Particle Theory), University of California, Irvine
- **Known for:** Co-founded PadSplit which grew to house 23,000 people across 18 U.S. cities with 10,000+ co-living rooms by January 2024, Built Atlas from idea to YC W22 company with $6M seed funding in under two years, Secured angel investment from three high-profile tech founders: Parker Conrad (Rippling CEO), Jack Altman (Lattice CEO), and Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founder/former CTO)

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Research Assistant at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, specializing in particle theory and fourth-generation top quark collider models
- **2014** — Developer at athenahealth (December 2014 - June 2015)
- **2018** — Co-founded PadSplit as CTO alongside Atticus LeBlanc - a co-living marketplace connecting low-income workers with affordable furnished rooms
- **2021** — Co-founded Blanket Homes, a tech-driven hospitality and on-demand property management company
- **2021** — Founded Atlas with Rahul Asati, building an AI-first customer support platform
- **2022** — Atlas accepted into Y Combinator Winter 2022 (W22) batch
- **2022** — Atlas raises $6M seed round with backing from Parker Conrad (Rippling), Jack Altman (Lattice), Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox), Soma Capital, and Palm Drive Capital
- **2024** — Launched Discord support integration - converting Discord messages into structured tickets with bidirectional sync
- **2024** — Featured on Monetizing SaaS podcast (Episode 21), discussing Atlas's vision as the 'customer system of record'
- **2025** — Atlas continues to grow with 18+ employees, expanding omnichannel support capabilities and AI copilot features

## Achievements

- Co-founded PadSplit which grew to house 23,000 people across 18 U.S. cities with 10,000+ co-living rooms by January 2024
- Built Atlas from idea to YC W22 company with $6M seed funding in under two years
- Secured angel investment from three high-profile tech founders: Parker Conrad (Rippling CEO), Jack Altman (Lattice CEO), and Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founder/former CTO)
- Earned PhD in Physics from UC Irvine with research on non-Gaussianities in the CMB to constrain physical constants
- Built a 3x co-founded track record spanning affordable housing, vacation rentals, and enterprise SaaS
- Launched industry-first Discord-to-ticketing integration for customer support teams

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — WellBuilt Podcast episode featuring Devon Lévesque and Albert Matheny of Promix on simplifying health and nutrition
- **2024-12** — WellBuilt Podcast episode with Mark Samuel (Founder of IWON Organics, President of Unbun Foods)
- **2024-10** — WellBuilt Podcast episode with Justin Mares, Co-Founder and CEO of TrueMed
- **2024-07** — Featured on Monetizing SaaS Podcast Episode 21, discussing Atlas as the 'customer system of record' and the shift away from seat-based pricing
- **2024-07** — WellBuilt Podcast episode with Joe Barsi, President of California Giant Berry Farms
- **2024-06** — Atlas launched Discord support integration enabling bidirectional ticket synchronization from Discord messages

## Links

- Website: https://atlas.so
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-obryan
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ic6KE0UDAM

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jon-o-bryan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-30